Ohio Passes New Drilling Law, Gov. Kasich Will Sign

May 25, 2012

Ohio’s new shale oil and gas drilling legislation (SB 315) has now passed both the House (73-19) and the Senate (21-8) and is on the way to Gov. John Kasich’s desk for his signature, which it will receive. The bill as passed is 220 pages long and wide-ranging in its scope, covering not only shale oil and gas extraction, but renewable energy, water conservation, and wastewater treatment. The bill reportedly contains some of the strictest rules in the nation for hydraulic fracturing.

So what’s in the bill? MDN doubts you want to read through 220 pages to find out. Embedded below is the 70-page summary overview version. However, here’s a few brief highlights of what’s in it:

requires increased disclosure of fracking chemicals and water usage

requires water well sampling within 1,500 feet of proposed horizontal wells

requires “cradle-to-grave” documentation and tracking of oil and gas wells from the time their started until they are capped

shipments of brine and other waste fluids have to be disclosed before injection into disposal wells, with additional requirements for brine transporters

requires increased inspections of wells and liability insurance coverage for well owners

requires oil and gas permits to be posted online for public review within two days of approval